When a tool vendor tells you that their product works ‘out of the box’, that might well be true, but the chances are that it is not going to work the way YOU want it to without some work on configuration.

Trying to rush the implementation of a tool is a recipe for dissatisfaction and history tells us that you are likely to be back looking for a new tool in a very short time. The tool is probably not at fault – the rushed implementation is.

In this presentation, David will give you valuable knowledge that, if you take it on board, will greatly improve your chances of having a toolset that works the way you need it to.

Understanding your own requirements, how you want your processes to work, what your customers expect from you and what information you need to get out of the tool, are critical to getting the implementation right, and getting it right on the first try.

There is a real ‘chicken and egg’ question that is often asked in IT Service Management – ‘which comes first, the process or the tool?’. In reality, the answer is somewhere in the middle.

Yes, you want the toolset you select to be capable of running the processes you design, the way you want them to work. The other side of the coin is that the designers of the toolsets available to support ITSM processes have spent a lot of time and effort researching the industry and trying to understand the best way to support ITSM process. It makes good sense to listen to what they are saying and be flexible in your thinking when planning your implementation.

One common factor in ITSM tool failures is over customization. In attempts to have your processes run within your toolset without compromise, tools are often manipulated to the point that they become unsupportable by the vendor and unmanageable for the people using them.

If you are in the midst of a tool implementation, thinking of doing on in the future, or just want to see what you could have done better, David’s breakfast session is well worth getting up early for.